Understanding
by Lucyinthesky1996
Summary: Kyle begins to understand why Stan loves Gary. Stary.


"Man, this party is dead." Cartman leaned back in his seat till it creaked from his weight, "I mean, there's no booze, no fit girls, no hookers..."

Stan ignored his whining. Cartman was lucky he'd been invited to Butters' thirteenth birthday party at all, since he treated Butters like crap. It'd taken Kenny a long time to convince him to allow the fat dude an invite and Butters had to give in eventually, seeing as hating on your boyfriend's pals is a major turn-off.

Kenny and Butters had been dating for a while now. At first, no one could understand why they were together. Kenny was very – well, _reserved_ – while Butters was a smiley, giggly, never-afraid-to-speak-his-mind, cheerleader-like kid. They were opposites that attracted, but it still happened.

But Butters had made a big deal over his thirteenth birthday and insisted on inviting the whole class over to his house to celebrate. Stan had to admit, it was a pretty cool party. Even if it was lacking in all the things Cartman listed.

"Where the heck is Kyle?" Cartman tossed an empty carton of juice over his shoulder, "He should have turned up here hours ago."

Stan watched as the couples kept arriving, but Kyle was not among any of them. Another thing Butters had insisted on. Everyone had to bring a date.

"Who was Kyle's date again?" Stan asked.

"Doesn't have one. Ah well, he can hang with us all night. Sleek and single, right?"

"Erm…not quite."

"What do you mean?"

"I…I have a date."

"You do? Who is it? Don't tell me it's Wendy-"

"It's_ not_ Wendy."

"Then who is it?"

"…you know that Mormon kid, Gary?"

"The faggy kid? Why the hell would you invite him?"

"I didn't. Butters did. I just asked him if he wanted to be my date and he said yes. I mean it's only right, seeing as he's my-" he cut off quickly.

Cartman peered at him, "Stan…are you _dating_ the faggy kid?"

Stan flushed, "What if I am?"

"Jeez, I wish Pip and Damien would make out in the bedroom and not at the front door." Kyle walked in, removing his jacket, "Hey guys, did I miss anything?"

"Stan's screwing the faggy kid!"

"_Cartman_!"

"You mean that Mormon?" Kyle looked disgusted, "Christ Stan, you're screwing a Mormon?"

"I'm _not_ screwing him. And his name's _Gary_, goddammit!"

"Whatever. Just make sure he keeps all that Mormon stuff to himself when he gets here." Kyle took off his hat, running his fingers through his red hair.

"Hey guys!" Butters came bouncing over to them, looking cute in his "soft kitty" shirt, "Having fun?"

Stan had to kick Cartman in the shin before he said no.

"Erm…that's a nice necklace you're wearing" he remarked, "Is it new?"

"Yeah, Kenny got it for me" Butters fingered the silver jewellery, "Isn't it adorable? He spent his whole allowance on it."

"Gay…" Cartman muttered.

The doorbell rung and Butters went to get it, leaving the three of them alone again.

"Looks like the whole class is here." Kyle remarked, as Craig pushed Tweek up against the wall and began to explore his mouth with his tongue.

"When's the Mormon kid getting here?" Cartman checked his watch, "If he stands you up Stan, I swear I'll kick his tight little-"

"Hey guys, sorry I'm late." Gary walked in and pressed a kiss against Stan's cheek, "It took mom ages to get my little sister down. What're you guys doing?"

"Sorry, I can't understand you. I don't speak Mormon." Kyle sneered, joined by Cartman in laughter.

"Shut up" Stan muttered, taking Gary's hand and pushing past them, "C'mon Gary, let's go sit down."

"Have fun making out!" Kyle shouted after them, making Cartman laugh even more.

* * *

"Jeez, I sure feel sorry for Stan. Having to put up with that…M-M-Mormon all the t-time…"

"Dude…" Kyle looked Cartman up and down, "I think you've had enough…"

"Don't…t-tell me…what to do…" Cartman cracked open another can of apple soda, swallowing it in two gulps, "Fu-fucking...J-jew..."

Kyle sighed. Butters had whipped out his CD player and everyone had taken to dancing. Not just any dancing. Slow dancing. The worst kind there was.

He decided to pass the time by picking out the worst dancers. Christophe and Gregory weren't too bad and neither were Damien and Pip. Tweek and Craig were a little rusty but since this was slow dancing, they got away with it. Kenny and Butters were probably the best though, seeing as Butters was a pretty talented dancer anyway.

_Damn, no one to make fun of._

And right in the middle was Stan and Gary, slowly dancing in circles, their arms wrapped around each other. God, Kyle _hated_ that Mormon. He was so…hot. In an annoying way. The worst part was that Kyle couldn't find any fault in him. That's why he hated him so much.

The song ended and some people stepped down to take a break. Stan left Gary and went over to Butters and Kenny so the Mormon was left alone in the centre of the room. He really was cute, Gary Harrison. But Kyle was certain it was all a mask. What did Stan _see_ in him? Come on, he was just a dumb little blonde trying to shove his religion in everyone's face. Apart from his looks, what was so special?

"Hey."

Kyle looked up and met a pair of blue eyes. His cheeks flushed without him knowing it.

"You're Kyle, aren't you?"

A nod came as a reply.

"Stan promised Butters he'd dance with him and…well, you looked a little lonely so…do you want to dance?"

Kyle stared at the hand outstretched in front of him. He glanced at Cartman, who had passed out from a sugar overdose and was currently snoring.

There was nothing better to do.

"Sure, whatever." Kyle got up, ignoring the hand and went and stood in the centre of the room. Gary followed, still smiling.

Kyle did his best not to make eye contact. He was dancing because he was bored and that was it. This made no difference to how he felt about the Mormon. He still hated his guts.

The music started playing. Celine Dion. Interesting.

One thing was for sure, Gary was a very good dancer. He was very agile in his movement and never seemed to miss a step. Kyle tried to look anywhere but the other boy's eyes whilst they danced. He looked over at Stan, who was innocently sharing a dance with Butters, totally oblivious to the awkwardness going on next to him. Kyle was still staring when he felt two arms go around his neck and when he glanced down, Gary had put his head on his shoulder, eyes closed.

"W-what are you doing?"

The blue eyes opened and Gary glanced up, "Oh, well…this is what you're supposed to do in a slow dance. My mom taught it to me. I'm sorry, am I making you uncomfortable?"

"No…" Kyle wet his lips, "It's fine. Go ahead..."

He felt Gary resting his head on his shoulder again and all of a sudden there was this weird buzz in his tummy. He'd never felt that before, that little buzz. It felt insanely warm. But it was good, real good. He glanced down at the Mormon and slowly began to understand what Stan saw in that little blonde, porcelain creature. There was something weirdly unique about him. He didn't know what it was, but he liked it.

God, he'd been a douche.

All of a sudden, the song was over and Gary pulled away from him.

"That was fun" he said, smiling, "You're a good dancer"

"Yeah..." Kyle felt his lips twitch into a smile, "You're not too bad yourself...for a Mormon"

"There you are" Stan came and caught the blonde by the waist, "C'mon, I'm starving. Let's go see what the dessert table has to offer."

"Okay. See you around Kyle" Gary gave him another bright smile before going off with his boyfriend.

Kyle watched after them a little longingly, then went to sit back down next to Cartman who'd regained conciousness.

"Jesus, my head's bangin." Cartman glanced over at Stan and Gary, who were giggling and sharing a kiss, "Hey, check out faggy boy. Giggling like a little girl."

"Don't call him that." Kyle said fiercely, without meaning too.

Cartman gave him a puzzled look as he grabbed a can of apple soda and swallowed it in two gulps.

* * *

"So, what did you think of the party?" Stan asked, after he and Kyle had dropped Gary off home and were making their way to Stan's house.

"It was ok. I still can't believe Pip and Damien won that snogging contest though. I mean, how could that go for that long without breathing?"

"Still, it was real cute when Kenny gave Butters that birthday spanking. His face!"

Kyle smiled through gritted teeth. Something had been on his mind all evening.

"Stan?"

"Yeah?"

"…how do you feel when you're around Gary?"

Stan stopped walking, "What?"

"I mean, do you get this feeling when you're around him? Like a good feeling?"

"If you're going to take the piss out of him again-"

"No! I'm not. But do you?"

"…yeah, sort of. I get this sort of warm, buzzy feeling whenever he's around. Like, I feel really happy, you know?"

"Yeah, I know..."

"Why'd you ask?"

"No reason…hey Stan?"

"What?"

"…I can see why you like Gary. He's a good kid."

"Oh, well, thanks."

"And I just wanted to say…I'm happy for you."

"…Kyle, have you been at the apple soda again?"

"No. Well, yeah but I'm just saying I'm cool with you two. I hope you're very happy together."

There was a pause before Stan turned around and gave him a hug.

"Thanks Kyle. That means a lot."


End file.
